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Wonders of Buoyancy
Wonders of Buoyancy is a short animated film that teaches about the physics behind buoyancy. It was created as a project for Physical Science 101 and features the first canon appearances of Prof. Samantha Rhodes and Lance Spears. Film Details * Release Date: November 26, 2010 * Running Time: 10 min. * MPAA Rating: '''n/a * '''Director: Andrew Bermudez * Producer: '''Andrew Bermudez * '''Writer: Andrew Bermudez Plot Summary The film opens with two students talking to each other. One of them comments on how hot their professor is, but is cut off by their professor, Samantha Rhodes, who has entered the room and placed her bag at her desk. She introduces the lecture and begins to talk about buoyancy forces. She starts off by using a cargo ship to explain basic buoyancy forces and how increasing the ship's weight increases the buoyancy force needed to keep it afloat. Without warning, an un-studious student falls asleep, forcing Samantha to wake him up. Upset at him, she continues her lecture. At the harbor, the ship is cast off, as the captain believes that the load has reached its maximum. However, Samantha Rhodes states that the ship can carry more cargo, and introduces an experiment to find out how much. Director Andrew Bermudez then introduces himself in a live action segment, where he performs the experiment and explains what is going on. Throughout the experiment, all of the mathematical calculations are performed on a whiteboard and displayed for the audience. Back in the classroom, Samantha begins to explain more advanced buoyancy principles, such as sinking. For this example, she uses an old pirate ship attacking a fort. At the fort, the soldiers spot the pirate ship sail into view and roll out its cannons. Caught off-guard, the soldiers immediately begin to fire back, inflicting critical hits on the pirate ship. As the pirates get ready to abandon ship, Captain Ironhook loses his treasure chest into the ocean. As the chest sinks, Samantha lectures about why the treasure is sinking and what forces are causing it. Back on the surface, Ironhook and some of his men escape to their dinghy and sail away from the fort as the rest of the ship and the remaining men on-board sink into the ocean below. The scene flashes forward to the present day, where a research raft is floating on the surface. Underwater, Lance Spears pilots a sub-surface scooter to the shipwreck and finds the treasure. He secures it and drives off. Back at the classroom, Samantha concludes her lecture when suddenly, Lance runs in to tell her to come see the treasure that he has found. Production History Work on this film started as early as September 2010, when it was confirmed in Physical Science 101 that one of the assignments was a video showcasing an experiment. Director Andrew Bermudez, seeing the opportunity, saw this as a way to produce another film right on the heels of Johnny Thunder and the Gift of the Nile. The film was officially announced on September 27, 2010 as an untitled physical science educational film. Development started immediately after, and before the month was over, the decision to make the film about buoyancy was reached. As for the introduction of LEGO Atlantis characters, this idea came almost immediately after the subject became about buoyancy. It was decided that since LEGO Atlantis takes place entirely underwater, having Samantha Rhodes and Lance Spears in the film only made sense. This move was also made because the script for Johnny Thunder and the Wisdom of the Ancients, which features Lance Spears as Sarah Thunder's boyfriend, was already in the works at the time. The film was revealed to be Wonders of Buoyancy on October 21, 2010 in the same post that featured the first comic for Tales of the Adventurers. Filming was already in-progress at that time, and concluded just a few days later. After editing, fact-checking, and an in-class presentation, the film was released on November 26, 2010. Audience Reception Audiences have almost unanimously loved the film, both for its humor and is educational components. It was a hit both in-class and online. On October 18, 2011, SPM Physics used the film in their science curriculum to teach about buoyancy, dispelling any internal concerns that the film had factual errors. Characters * Professor Samantha Rhodes (Teresa Bermudez) * Lance Spears (Andrew Bermudez) * Slacker Student (Daniel Bermudez) * Clean Student (Al Bermudez) * Andrew Bermudez (Himself) * Cargo Ship Captain (Al Bermudez) * Hard Hat Worker (Al Bermudez) * Bean Hat Worker (Andrew Bermudez) * Happy Soldier (Daniel Bermudez) * Royal Captain (Daniel Bermudez) * Beard Soldier (Andrew Bermudez) * Lookout Man (Daniel Bermudez) * Captain Redbeard (Andrew Bermudez) * Gold Tooth Pirate (Teresa Bermudez) Locations * LEGO City * Classroom * LEGO City Harbor * Shipwreck Tropes Wonders of Buoyancy contains examples of the following tropes. * And the Adventure Continues: Right after Samantha Rhodes concludes her class, Lance Spears races in and tells her about the treasure he found. This plot set-up is resolved in the comic series Tales of the Adventurers. * Asleep in Class: The Crooked Hat Student falls asleep in class, snoring loudly. * Book Dumb: The Crooked Hat Student is this. * Canon Immigrant: This film is the first time that the LEGO Characters Professor Samantha Rhodes, Lance Spears, and Captain Redbeard appeared in the Mustache Maniacs Film Co. cinematic universe. * Captain Colorbeard: Captain Redbeard from the LEGO Pirates line appears in this film. * Edutainment Show: The film's whole premise is to teach audiences about buoyancy. * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Outside of Samantha Rhodes, Lance Spears, and Captain Redbeard, none of the characters in this film have any actual names. Even the internal production documents refer to most of this film's characters with descriptive titles. Examples are Clean Student, Hard Hat Worker, and Beard Soldier. * High School: Canonically, this is the film's setting. * Info Dump: If the viewer is learning about buoyancy forces in school, then this film counts as this trope. * Pirate: One of the demonstrations shows Captain Redbeard attacking a British fort, and his ship's subsequent sinking. * Rape, Pillage, and Burn: The pirates try to do this, but it fails pretty quickly. Credits * Andrew Bermudez - Writer; Director; Voice Actor; Actor; Editor; Animator; Producer * Teresa Bermudez - Assistant Writer; Voice Actor * Daniel Bermudez - Assistant Writer; Voice Actor * Al Bermudez - Authenticity Expert; Voice Actor Trivia * When this film was released online, it was both Mustache Maniacs Film Co.'s shortest film online and longest single online video. Both of these records were later broken by When Barrels Fly and Mystery at Shady Acres Part 1, respectively. * For the assignment, only the live action experiment was required. The animation was used to further explain buoyancy for audiences outside of the classroom. * In the official canon, this film takes place about 40 minutes before the events of comic #4 for Tales of the Adventurers. Gallery Image105.jpg Image541.jpg Image58.jpg External Links * Official Web Page * Film on YouTube * Deleted Scenes and Production Gallery on YouTube Category:Animation Category:Movies Category:2010 Category:Class Assignment